On September 25, 2024, the Ag. Director General of the Kenya Space Agency (KSA), Brig. Hillary Kipkosgey, hosted a delegation from the United States of America at the KSA headquarters in Nairobi.
The delegation, led by Ms. Kelli Seybolt, Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs at the United States Air Force (USAF), discussed potential areas of collaboration in space-related matters, including Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Space Domain Awareness (SDA), and capacity building in space applications, systems engineering, as well as policy and legislation.
Kelli L. Seybolt, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. In this position, she provides oversight and guidance for U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force international policy and programs in support of national security objectives.
As manager of the security cooperation enterprise for the Department of the Air Force, Ms. Seybolt oversees the planning of activities involving training and education, exercises, equipping, information exchanges, personnel exchanges, agreements, and defense and military contacts.
During the meeting, Ms. Seybolt acknowledged the strong relationship between Kenya and the United States, highlighting that space presents a unique opportunity to further enhance this partnership.
Brig. Kipkosgey expressed his gratitude to Ms. Seybolt for visiting the Agency and recognized the potential for Kenya to learn from the United States in the field of space.
Prior to returning to the Air Force, Ms. Seybolt served as the Director of International Affairs and the Foreign Policy Advisor for the U.S. Coast Guard. In this role, she was the Coast Guard senior leadership’s key policy advisor on all agency activities related to international affairs and engagement. She was also responsible for developing, coordinating and implementing agency strategy, policy and programs related to Coast Guard international activities.